{"id":7177,"date":"2015-12-24T22:33:59","date_gmt":"2015-12-24T22:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/?p=7177"},"modified":"2021-08-05T18:49:05","modified_gmt":"2021-08-05T18:49:05","slug":"swedish-christmas-food-lutfisk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/swedish\/swedish-christmas-food-lutfisk\/","title":{"rendered":"Swedish Christmas Food \u2013 Lutfisk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Swedes celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve\u2014December 24. But that doesn\u2019t mean they don\u2019t take full advantage of the holiday. Come the end of November, you\u2019ll start seeing restaurants, hotels, catering services all offering a julbord<\/em>. Literally, Christmas table, a julbord<\/em> is the Christmastime smorgasbord (another Swedish word, by the way) filled with food and drink.<\/p>\n

There are plenty of variations of this tradition, and it is constantly changing like any tradition, but you\u2019ll often find inlagd sill<\/em> (pickled herring), julskinka<\/em> (Christmas ham), korv<\/em> (sausages), k\u00f6ttbullar<\/em> (meatballs), potatis<\/em> (potatoes), r\u00f6kt och gravad lax<\/em> (smoked and cured salmon), \u00e4rter<\/em> (peas), r\u00f6dbetor<\/em> (red beets), r\u00f6dk\u00e5l<\/em> (red cabbage) and a whole lot more. Plus there\u2019s the julmust<\/em> (Christmas pop, jul\u00f6l<\/em> (Christmas beer), and snaps<\/em> (aquavit).<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s one thing I left off that list. Mostly because it\u2019s one thing I leave off my own personal Christmas menu: lutfisk<\/em>.<\/p>\n

“ForkLutefisk<\/a>” by Jonathunder<\/a> – Own work<\/span>. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0<\/a> via Wikimedia Commons<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Lutfisk<\/em>, often known by the Norwegian word \u201clutefisk\u201d in the United States, is fish soaked in lye. Which makes sense considering lut<\/em> = lye and fisk<\/em> = fish. Ta da! Swedish is a pretty logical language sometimes.<\/p>\n

The dish has been around for at least 500 years with Olaus Magnus writing about it back in the 1500s. The recipe hasn\u2019t changed much. Dry some whitefish (like ling, for example). Soak it in cold water for five-ish days. Soak it in lye for two-ish days. Soak it in cold water again for about 5-ish days. Don\u2019t forget to change the water out once a day. Cook it. Eat it. Or don\u2019t.<\/p>\n

Traditions vary, but often lutfisk is served with potatoes and (where my dad\u2019s family lives) senaps\u00e5s (mustard sauce). In Norway they\u2019ll serve it with bacon. In Finland, they\u2019ll add some peas to the meal. But no matter how you eat it, or what you eat it with, lutfisk can be found on tables all over Sweden and its neighboring countries during the holiday season. And all over the United States as well.<\/p>\n

Dr. Carrie Roy has put together a 13-minute documentary about lutfisk traditions in the Upper Midwest for anyone wanting to get a closer look at the glory that is Scandinavian food traditions.<\/p>\n